West Japan Railways Apologizes for Inexcusable Early Departure

West Japan Railways, which runs from Osaka to Fukuoka, has recently conveyed a solemn apology to all customers after a train departed 25 seconds earlier. A company spokesperson declared that the train’s conductor would be brought up to date on West Japan Railways departure policies.

West Japan Railways Serves 1.778 Billion Passengers Per Year

On Friday, a West Japan Railways representative solemnly apologized to its customers, after the train that was supposed to leave Notogawa Station at 7:12 a.m. left 25 seconds earlier.

Although a non-Japan resident might find this type of behavior peculiar, the Nippon railway company has strict policies when it comes to schedules.

Serving four busy areas (Shin’etsu, Hokuriku, Chogoku, and Kansai), the company relies on railway employees to respect the ordained timetables to the letter.

Any anomalous departure could result in financial catastrophe, as hundreds of thousands of people rely on the train to get to work on time.

The Osaka-based company serves approximately 1.8 billion passengers per year, totaling 52.614 billion kilometers per year.

Considered one of Japan’s largest railway company, West Japan laid down 610 kilometers of the track so far, and 245 stations.

Although it serves several areas, the Sanyo Shinkansen high-speed rail accounts for 40 percent of the company’s revenue, followed by the so-called Urban Network.

Given the company’s intricate railway network, even a 25-seconds early departure can throw the whole system out of balance.

Conclusion

According to a West Japan Railways spokesperson, the train’s conductor closed the train’s door at 7:11 a.m. In his ‘defense,’ the railway’s employee said that he was convinced that the train was due to depart at 7:11 a.m. and not at 7:12 a.m.

Seeing that there were no passengers on the platform, the man closed the doors and left. Almost six people were forced to wait another six minutes for the next train to arrive.